


Valkyrie Offline (or Tea with Ana)

by Raya_de_Luz



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Drama, Drunkenness, Explicit Language, F/F, False Accusations, Gen, Soap Opera level drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11404392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raya_de_Luz/pseuds/Raya_de_Luz
Summary: Angela and Ana have a nice little chat over tea (Or a shot or two) while they try to resolve their strained friendship.





	Valkyrie Offline (or Tea with Ana)

**Author's Note:**

> The story picks up shortly after Ana has returned from her life as a vigilante/bounty hunter to join Overwatch again.
> 
> Due to some confusion on my part about the character ages at the time I wrote this, (back during the Insurrection/Null Sector event) the timeline of events in this fanfic deviates from Overwatch canon significantly. It made sense at the time but the initial version had some problems. I have rewritten parts to hopefully smooth over some of that disparity. I'm not sure I was successful, but here it is.
> 
> The sniper duel, where Ana is taken out by Widowmaker and is presumed dead, happens much earlier in her career -when her daughter was young. Also, the King's Row Null Sector uprising happens much earlier as well. 
> 
> Also, Also: while I have done fan art over the years, this is my first fanfiction, so I'm new to this aspect of fandom and AO3 in particular. Please excuse me while I flail about as I figure out how this all works.

More than anything else Doctor Angela Ziegler hated to puke.

The arc of golden light that connected her to the Caduceus, along with its pleasant warmth and pulsing buzz, evaporated when she released the staff’s trigger. After having held her breath, finally, it burst forth as a soft laugh. It was close, but she had avoided being violently ill. When she opened her eyes to a completely trashed laboratory her triumph remained undiminished.

Angela spoke the weary command: "Valkerie Offline... Power down.", then pulled the halo-com off her head and tossed it aside. Nearby, the Valkyrie powered medical response harness lost its pinions of light and settled down with a dying hum on top of a pile of broken lab equipment and spare parts.

A minute before Angela’s world was caught in a rough tailspin. She had staggered and crawled about in a panicked race against the tide of nausea about to overwhelm her. All around her the laboratory told the story of the chaos that she brought on as she had tried to save herself.

\---

She had been so drunk that she could barely put two thoughts together let alone stand. Leaning heavily on the rolling test kiosk she blinked slowly at its touchscreen.

 **VALKYRIE RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEM**  
**TEST & CALIBRATION**  
**Enter Authorization Code:**

The cursor blinked in the field and the virtual keyboard underneath patiently awaited her input. She lifted a hand over the screen and watched her finger stab a key three letters over from what she had intended. _Goddamnit._

Her head swiveled around and her bleary stare regarded Valkyrie rapid-response suit sitting nearby on its mannequin. All she needed was for the suit to be active and online in order to use the Caduceus staff.

Ordinarily, she could operate the suit in her sleep but at that moment she was trying to remember the sequence to get it powered on. The process was different for actual field operation than it was for in-lab tests. Instinct told her to put it on, but she didn’t have time for that: her nausea was getting worse by the second.

 _Fine._ She left it on its stand and hit the suit’s power button under the collar. Then she grabbed the halo-com that rested above the suit and powered that on. She didn't bother to put the halo on her head, just held segment with the mic up to her mouth.

"Umm. Vakaree Unlenn." She shook her head and then immediately regretted it. Bracing herself against the test cart she tried to hold herself steady as the room started to spin again.

"Vacurry Ahnlien. Nngh." It was like she heard herself speaking underwater. _Oh for the love of-! Angela, you can do this._ Funneling all her will into at least the mimicry of sobriety she tried again.

“ ... VALKYRIE ONLINE."

Nothing.

Then she remembered that the contacts at the temples needed a connection. With a slurred curse she jammed the halo on her head and tried once again. "VALK-hrgh-ahem- ...VALKYRIE ONLINE!"

The suit sprouted blades of plasma from its back forming its signature wings of golden light. While not quite levitating, it did lift a portion of its weight off the torso shaped stand it had been sitting on.

Angela groaned, realizing she had not removed the flight packs from their scapular mounts before powering the suit. As another wave of nausea hit she abandoned the thought of disconnecting them. She would just have to use the healing stream from the staff leaving the suit as it was.

The suit finished a series of initialization beeps and then requested calibration, as it was missing contact input from points on the back, shoulders, and arms. Angela spat another curse and after several attempts managed to hit the sequence on the collar that told the suit to revert to the last known flight parameters, and gave priority input to the halo-coms contact points. It chirped affirmative and standby status indicators lit up.

Angela nearly wept with relief as she reached for the Caduceus staff where it was mounted on the adjacent wall, only to find an empty bracket. _No!_

She clapped her hand over her mouth. The abject horror of not having her healing staff in hand spiked the queasiness. She managed to fight it back down. Through the panic, a foggy memory bubbled up: earlier she had been doing something that had to do with tuning the staff's stream confluence patterns. With utmost care, using the test cart as her anchor, Angela turned to look at the Caduceus, partially assembled, sitting on a work bench. It was at the other end of the lab. _No No No No._

As soon as she lurched forward the Valkyrie Rapid Response Suit did as well, pulling with it the half-mannequin it was still attached to. Its given settings insisted that it needed power to lift an additional hundred pounds so it rocketed up and past her into the hanging lamps. There was a crash and a shower of sparks and the room lost half its light on one side.

Angela didn't care. Nothing mattered except getting to that staff.

She continued to stagger forward and then fell. The harness lurched suddenly wanting to correct against her fall. It spun, momentarily caught up in the chains that held the hanging lamps before it broke away and flew off to crash into a cabinet of supplies. The doctor pitched forward heedless of the destruction that paralleled her desperate scramble across the room.

Panic and nausea did a frightful dance each goading the other into a frenzy. A shudder went up her spine and she could feel the sudden sweat come on, letting her know true disaster was imminent.

A hand clamped tightly over her mouth, she managed the last few feet to the workbench. It felt like it was a mile.

Colliding with the workbench, she grabbed the Caduceus, slammed the necessary parts back in place and hit the trigger so hard it made her fingers hurt.

When the healing stream hit her the effect was immediate. _Heaven._

Somewhere behind her the Valkyrie power-suit bounced off a bookcase and hit a counter filled with an array of spare suit parts.

Propped up against the nearest wall as Angela sank to the floor, her knees drawn up and eyes closed. She hugged the staff to her like a rescued child. It radiated its warmth directly into her and gave off a whirring, humming sound. _This. This is the most beautiful sound in the world._

\---

Now that she was sober Angela allowed herself to think back to how it all started.

* * * *  
Angela brought the tea pot over to the table. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to an actual cafe or restaurant or just somewhere that ...at least has natural light?”

The bare utilitarian kitchenette in the place that served as the latest base of operations for some of the Overwatch team was cold and unwelcoming. Or maybe it was just the company. Angela would have gladly invited a friend for tea at her place, but in this case, she wasn’t sure if she was in the company of a friend.

“No need to bother. This will be fine. I’m accustomed to making do with what’s immediately available.” said Ana. Angela had to admit that whether she was wearing her sniper’s field gear or dressed down as she was, in jeans and a white button down shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, Ana always managed to seem perfectly at ease.

“Ah. Of course.” Angela brought the tea pot to Ana’s cup and she stopped her with a gesture. Ana then brought out a tall bottle of liquor and set it on the table.

The label Angela recognized immediately. "Goldvein! I haven't seen that since London." She set the pot down, picked up the bottle, chuckling. "I never cared for the taste but this takes me back. We'd been through so much."

In particular, Angela remembered the King’s Row clashes with Null Sector. After the fights, after the debriefings, the bottle would come out. It became a ritual; an intimate commiseration or reconnecting with friends. There was never time for pitching themselves fully into carefree drunkenness. Their responsibilities wouldn’t allow it. It was only a few drinks and honest words before they would disperse to their respective branches to plan and commit to the next fight.

Ana nodded. "It was surely the company more than the drink. Sit and have one with me.”

“But didn’t you want tea?” After a beat of hesitation, Angela put the bottle down and sat. She consciously relaxed against the tension wanting to creep up her shoulders.

“Oh, I did.” Ana poured the Goldvein into their teacups and then sat back in her chair “but let's set aside the niceties for now and drink something more direct. More honest.” _So. It is going to be that conversation._

Her fears confirmed, Angela felt the pit of her stomach fall through the floor. Even so, she managed a smile.

It had been more and more difficult to avoid contact with Ana since she seemingly returned from the dead. Once past the initial shock, everyone celebrated her return including Angela. But now Angela’s life had become infinitely more complex and surreal. The plan had been to avoid Ana until she was ready. Of course it would be Ana that would ask her to meet for tea.

“I really don’t drink anymore.”

Ana flicked her hand, a casual dismissal before picking up her cup. “Neither do I. Call it a nod to the past.”

“In that case, we are missing Jack and the others. I’ll go get them.” Angela started to rise but catching the look in Ana’s eye, she sat back down. “You’re right. They’re probably busy.” She hoped that she conveyed a lightness in her voice.

“To the old days” Ana raised her cup “and old friends.” The wrinkles in Ana’s smile accentuated an old joke.

Back when she was known as Captain Amari, Ana would tease the young Dr. Ziegler's intensity, warning her that she'd age much too quickly if she kept going at her pace. _"Come on, Old Lady, stop fretting over those numbers and screens and get some rest.", "Jack, tell my old friend here, her research can wait until after a nap.", "I'm half convinced you invented that flight harness so that you wouldn't have to drag your_ walker _out into the field."_

Now, Ana, in her sun weathered skin and braid of silver hair, looked every bit of her 60 years and Angela looked like she'd aged very little since then. If this had been any other conversation, Angela might have enjoyed that slice of irony a little more.

“To the old days” Angela brought her cup and a smile to meet Ana’s “and friends.”

The familiar stab of sweetness riding on a layer of bitter heat hit Angela’s tongue and burned the back of her throat. The wave of nostalgia that hit her was powerful. She let go a sharp exhalation at the same time Ana did. It was almost a laugh.

“Awful” Angela whispered, to which Ana nodded and poured more into the cups.

“To the rise of the new watch.” Ana prompted.

 _And now a round of toasts. Fine. The sooner over, the sooner we can get to why we are here._ “To the new watch.” Angela rejoined.

Ana splashed more into the cups, raised hers “And whatever the future holds.”

“The future.” said Angela. As she began to drink Ana asked nonchalantly, “When did you decide to fuck my daughter?”

Angela choked on the fire as it went down her lungs. She coughed, gasped and tried hard not to sneeze in between. Trying to catch her breath through wheezes, Angela could only lift her eyes as far as Ana’s hand resting on the table, index finger lightly tracing the curve of her tea cup.

 _And there it is._ Angela had expected this. This day, this conversation, this moment. But the timing and the crude delivery so vicious; a calculated shot worthy of a top sniper.

“Ana! That is not-“ the sharp sound of Ana’s cup being used like a gavel on the table stopped Angela short. Ana paid no notice to the alcohol that had splashed across her knuckles.

“Do not open your mouth unless you intend to speak honestly. Keep drinking if you must.” Ana picked up the bottle ignoring Angela’s gesture waving it off. "But you will answer me, doctor." Both glasses were filled half way before Ana put the bottle down.

“Now, I’ll ask again since I seem to have taken you by surprise. When did you decide you would take advantage of my daughter? You’ve known her since she was a little girl. For all I know you-”

“Don’t you dare!” Angela slammed the table with both fists. She was standing now, glaring down at the woman seated across from her. Ana sat placidly with Angela leaning over her. Angela even saw the trace of a cold smile. The doctor's rage seemed to burn away the alcohol. Hearing her own voice tremble infuriated her even more.

“Don’t you dare come at me with that, Amari. If you truly believe that I would do such a thing then take your goddamned rifle and kill me right now! You’d be well within your rights if it were true!”

Ana leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table. "Don't think I haven't considered it, Doctor Ziegler."

"Then what are you waiting for?" snarled Angela between clenched teeth.

"What's going on?"

Neither woman acknowledged Jack Morrison when he entered the room. Neither would answer him now. He looked between the two and noted the bottle between them. He walked up to Angela, who was still towering over Ana. "Doctor? Are you all-"

Before he could finish Angela had grabbed his sidearm from its holster and slammed it on the table, barrel facing herself and handle toward Ana. "What are you waiting for!?"

Ana took the gun and rose smoothly, eye still locked on Angela. When she raised the gun it was out to her side, in the direction of the door. She held it by the barrel as she spoke to Jack.

"Thank you for checking on us, Jack, but we are just having a conversation. If you would be so kind as to leave us to it?" Nothing in her voice indicated a request. Morrison took the gun, glaring one last time at the women before he left.

"Idiot. You think this kind of outburst helps you? Sit down." Ana said as she sat with a sigh.

_This is why she chose this place to meet -as if I’m some..._

"I don't give a damn how it looks!" snapped Angela, not even close to sitting down. "What you are playing at right now is reprehensible. You said you wanted honesty and then throw about accusations of- of-. That I would-" Angela snapped her mouth shut, incredulity cutting off the words while she struggled with an anger that threatened tears. After a few trembling breaths to calm herself she shook her head and whispered. "I would never hurt Fareeha and you know it."

"You are denying that you are her lover then?"

Mercy closed her eyes and sat down, letting a moment pass before she answered. "That is another question altogether." She took a drink before answering.

"No. I am not denying it.” When she looked at Ana she was the embodiment of unapologetic resolve. “I am in love with your daughter."

Ana turned away but not before Angela caught a fracture in the mask of the cold assassin that had cornered her. She muttered something in Arabic that Angela could not catch.

Angela laced her fingers in front of her with overt care and waited on Ana this time.

"I can't believe this.” Ana gestured angrily across the table. “I can't believe you!"

Angela couldn't help but arch a brow and reply coolly. "Perhaps you should join us the modern world where things aren't dictated by old men in ancient texts. I am surprised you are bound by such puritanical morality and intolerance that you would-" It was the look that Ana gave her more than the sharp laugh that brought Angela up short.

"Oh, please, doctor. You think I don't know my own daughter? I knew before she did that she would love women. I never doubted she would be true to herself, so _that_ was never a concern for me.

"No. That isn't it." Ana stared into her cup after she had taken a sip. "It was that you, my teammate, my friend, would have such a monumental lapse in judgment and betray my trust. That is why we sit here and poison ourselves."

As much as Angela wanted to rail against Ana’s words she couldn’t. Neither could she apologize. The silence that followed was her struggling with a resentment that she hadn’t dared speak aloud before.

“You claim to know her but you still do not understand her. You haven’t even talked to her.” Angela sighed. “I mean, really talked to her since you returned.”

“I don't need to understand her. I need to understand you, Angela. Why?”

“How can you pretend to be so protective of her but not want to understand her? What; is she just some mercenary assignment to you? A loose end to tie up?”

“I am here because I care a great deal. Do you think she would talk to me about this after so long gone? I am scared to death that I have lost her.”

Angela looked at Ana and, unmoved by the wavering she saw there, lifted her chin. "Can you blame her?" Her hands began to curl into fists as she continued. A different rage began to obscure her vision -this one poisonous. "Honestly, the only thing worse than you dying was you coming back. Both times I was there to pick up the pieces."

"What you did to her…” Angela looked at her hands then lowered them to her lap, keeping her eyes on the place they had been. She barely spoke above a whisper. “I cannot remember a time when I have ever wanted to strangle someone with my own hands.”

_No. This is not who I am._

Angela shook her head, regaining herself. "But that was me wanting to protect her and not being able to do a damn thing about it. That was me being selfish."

Finally, she raised her eyes to face Ana again.

"Despite what it might seem like, I believe Fareeha wants to have a mother again. Its been hard but she is coming around. If you ever wanted to understand her, consider the well of her strength: She is willing to forgive you.

"Even so, I'm afraid I am not so strong as that, Ana."

Ana nodded. "So be it." She had the look of a soldier understanding hopeless odds and accepting the mission regardless. Angela could see it in the older woman's jawline and the glint of gold in her eye. Past that weathered face, Angela felt a pang of familiarity. _So this is where Fareeha gets it._

“I have just returned to her life, and so much to make up for. I have not talked to her. Yet. I had to talk to you, first. If you feel I have no right to ask why then so be it. It confirms what I have already suspected.” No longer leaning on the table Ana settled heavily into her chair.

Something about the cool resignation on Ana's face and how it masked something far deeper, changed the course of Angela’s emotions. Rage, the hot and the cold, seemed to lose its purchase and fell away.

Angela looked at her cup and resisted the urge to finish it off. After a shaky breath, she answered.

“When you- When we lost you, you don't know what that did to her. She did her best; We all did. But she, well, you would have been proud of her. I tried to be someone she could talk to but I couldn't reach her. And then my work took me further and further away. Jack and Wilhelm, they will tell you how well she managed.

"I would write now and then. Call on a holiday or something. We were barely acquaintances by the time Overwatch was reactivated. When we met again she was someone I barely recognized. So different but still that same fierce Fareeha. I still did not spend much time with her. It wasn't until Anubis that I was able to work with her and discover the woman that she had become.

“And then, it wasn’t until after two years where I realized- where I came to understand myself better. And even then I would question and deny everything that haunted me. The better part of a year wasted on doubt and confusion. Months avoiding her.” Angela smiled ruefully and took a drink. “Being a coward.” Before continuing she spared a glance at Ana, whose face was unreadable.

“I know you think you did her a service by allowing her to think you were dead all that time; that it made her strong. I hate you for it, but you are right. She had no choice.

“She is so strong, Ana. Relentless and fierce. She takes on the world with utter faith she brings change. My soul has no choice but to answer the call and lift her even further.

“And when we are on the ground, when the fury has left and there is quiet; her eyes search for calm seas. I pour out oceans to bring her that peace. I want to be her Stillness.” Angela blinked several times, realizing she was not looking at Ana but staring past her. Lowering her gaze to her hands she took a breath and continued.

“I am behind the technology that can alter and redirect the life cycles of cellular structures. I have invented new ways to manipulate plasmic fields to reconstruct and revitalize organic matter. I have learned the pulse of life and death and very nearly controlled it. I have pushed every field I am in and given this fight everything that I am. More than once I have lost myself in a mindless drive to save someone. Even if I can bring them back from going through that last door I...” Angela’s words trailed off as a weariness she’d known since she became a member of Overwatch settled upon her. “I have seen so many die…”

_Come back from this._

As always, on the heels of considering her accomplishments came humility and regret and lastly shame; a burgeoning despair that met up hard against an unrelenting determination.

She ran her hands over her face as if she could clean away something. _Always come back._

“I’ve thrown myself into facing Death at every step and have nearly conquered it but I am not Life. She is.”

“Fareeha is the first person that sparked in me the need to be selfish. I protect her because that is what I want. She is the fire and ferocity, the torch I hold aloft. And when the fight threatens to overwhelm me I look at her and I remember exactly who I am, and why I am in the middle of the maelstrom."

Angela felt as if she was coming out of a trance. Ana had allowed her to go on without interruption and now contemplated her with that enigmatic expression. Her arms were crossed and she sat back in her chair as she watched Angela. There was something in Ana’s voice that was as elusive as her expression. When she finally spoke her voice was quieter than before.

“She will always be a hawk, Angela. And you, the dove." She almost sounded tired. "What will you do when war takes her farther than you dare reach? How far does your selfishness take you?”

Angela took a breath to answer and found that she could not. It wasn’t as if she had never thought along those lines herself, but just having those words spoken out loud in front of her was unbearable.

Ana laid a hand over Angela’s. “Have you really not thought that far?”  
In Ana's voice, she found an old familiar affection. Angela brought her eyes up from their hands to meet Ana's gaze. Suddenly, her expression was no longer unreadable to Angela. The older woman offered a wistful smile and murmured, "Stupid girl. I've always worried about you." The words hit home harder than Goldvein.

Angela's vision blurred as her heart ached in a collision of shame, fear, and relief. She lowered her head and fought past a sob that tightened her shoulders. By force of desperate will, she refused to dissolve any further than that.

Ana hesitated. She had lifted her other hand, poised to settle on Angela's shoulder to give a maternal gesture of comfort but saw how hard Angela struggled against losing control. Instead, she withdrew with a brief squeeze of the hand and sat back allowing Angela to collect herself.

Angela wiped quickly at her eyes and tried to keep her voice steady. "There is so much I want to say, I need to say but-" _I've missed you so much. I can't lose you again. I need you. Fareeha needs you._

"It's too much." Ana nodded and sighed. "I know. And I am truly sorry."

Angela nodded, in acceptance of the apology but didn't trust herself with words.

"I am hoping with time that we can..." Ana ventured tentatively, leaving the rest unspoken.

Angela nodded again and took a cleansing breath. "I hope so."

A brief silence stretched out between them before Angela looked up. "To answer your question, I have thought that far. If the hawk and the dove should fly far apart from each other, then I have no choice: I will heal.” Angela gave a brittle smile. “It's what I do.” Then she added, voice now firm. “But no matter what, I will not lose her to Death.”

Ana nodded once, her face touched by a smile as tired and hopeful as Angela’s. A moment passed before she lifted the bottle, pouring it between the two cups once more.

“To Life and family, then.”

* * *

Resting her head back against the wall, Angela's eyes looked on the lab’s wrecked ceiling fixtures without seeing them. She thought about the confrontation and how it left her exhausted but relieved. She was warmed by the thought of not losing Ana as a friend. Her hope even went so far as entertaining a time when everyone could relax and enjoy each other’s company. _Perhaps, for the upcoming holiday, we could have Ana over. We could even invite Lena and Emily and..._

The distant sound of the front door opening and Fareeha’s voice upstairs brought Angela out of a dream with a start.

“Scheisst!” hissed Angela, raking a hand through her hair as she looked around trying to figure out how long she had been asleep. Her heart sank as she took in the state of the lab again. And she was no better, hair in disarray and her makeup was most certainly streaked and smeared. She started to push herself up from the floor. One of her legs had fallen asleep so she leaned partly on the wall and with the aid of the Caduceus staff.

Her anxiety swelled as she heard the sound of Fareeha going from room to room looking for her.

“Are you down here?” Fareeha’s voice came from the top of the stairs.

“Ah-Yes. But don’t bother coming down, I’ll be right up.”

“You’ll never guess who I talked to.” Fareeha's voice was closer. She was definitely coming down.

Thinking she might be able to meet Fareeha before she entered the room, Angela moved for the doorway. “Um- Have you had dinner? I’m coming up. Tell me all about it once-”

Underestimating how numb her leg was, she found herself on the floor again. The noise of the scattered debris made the fall sound much worse than it actually was.

“Angela!”

Even knowing her lover’s agility on the battlefield, Angela was still surprised at the speed at which Fareeha reached her through the mess.

“It's okay. I’m fine.” The hand that Angela had held up in a gesture of calm was brushed aside as Fareeha made a quick examination, looking for injuries.

“Where are you hurt?”

“Fareeha- ”

"Is there anyone else here?" Fareeha split her attention between scanning the area and Angela.

“No, no one. Really, I’m fine. I just fell.”

“Did you hit your head?” When Fareeha attempted to check Angela’s eyes for dilation Angela grabbed her hand.

"Fareeha, stop!”

When she was sure she had Fareeha’s attention, Angela continued with an apologetic smile. “I’m telling you, I’m fine. I just need a minute. And for God’s sake, put that away.”

Fareeha gave Angela a careful sidelong glance before tucking away the pistol she had at the ready. She had turned her attention to the staff that Angela still clutched in her hand. “Is something wrong with the Caduceus?”

“No, nothing. It’s just- “ She rubbed her leg, wincing at the feeling of pins and needles. “My leg fell asleep.”

“Your leg... fell asleep?” Fareeha’s expression went from relief to utter confusion as she took in the destruction around them. “How-... Did- ...Uhm. What?”

Angela’s smile turned to a soft chuckle as she watched her lover try to sort it all out. “Just help me up, love.”

After allowing her girlfriend to help revive her leg and stand, Angela gestured to the area as if she was proud of the scene. “And this?” Angela shrugged “I met your mother for tea.”

“Ah.” Fareeha was still surveying the room and then after half a second her eyes widened “Oh!”

Fareeha’s attention snapped back to Angela. “Oh my god, Angela. Are you all right?”

Angela nodded and then sighed. “We talked. And drank Goldvein, of all things.”

“Goldvein? But you don’t even drink.”

“Yes, well. It was sort of a requirement.” Angela shrugged again “And, frankly, it helped.”

“She got you drunk.” Fareeha’s voice smoothed to a quiet chill as she began to see the correlation between the state of the lab and tea with her mother. “And forced you into a confrontation.”

“Well, I mean… It wasn’t so…” Angela trailed off finding herself unsure. When she felt the warmth of Fareeha’s palm on her cheek she looked up and her breath caught by what she saw in those eyes. _God, that Fire._

“She thinks she can run you into a corner and trap you?” Hearing her lover’s words go from soft understanding to a dangerous edge brought Angela a realization. _This woman would go to war with her mother for me._

Angela suddenly felt like she might be drunk again.

“Now, mind you, I held my own.” Angela took Fareeha’s hand in hers, trying to calm the rising tide she saw in her lover’s eyes. “And it ended well. I swear.”

Fareeha arched a brow and nodded to the side to indicate the lab “Did it?”

Angela caught Fareeha’s face in her hands and pulled her down for a kiss; a ploy to distract Fareeha from her righteous anger as much as it was her own hunger sparked by seeing it. The tension in Fareeha’s shoulders melted away as her arms encircled Angela and drew her in.

Angela breathed soft kisses against Fareeha’s neck and whispered, "I promise you everything is fine, my love. Take me upstairs and I'll prove it to you."


End file.
